Not-so-Blue Monday

24 Jan 2012 by Meg Pinfield

Our local TV station announced that January 16th was Blue Monday, the gloomiest day of the year during the bleak post-Christmas slump. Luckily it was a good day for us. We had three appointments offering help and advice for Ivan with his Parkinson’s disease (PD) symptoms and me as his carer.

Normally one such appointment in a day would be our limit because Ivan’s slowness and mobility difficulties make any outing a major expedition. This is true for me too as I hoist his rollator in and out of the car. However, Ivan was offered a cancellation appointment with the community physiotherapist, so we grabbed it. Although Christmas had been a great social time, we paid for it by catching a nasty cold brought by lovely visitors. It knocked us both back and left Ivan weakened. His PD lack of coordination and wobbly legs seemed more obvious and there was a degree of mental confusion too. Our Parkinson’s nurse reassured me that it often happens when a PD patient gets ill and he should return to normal when he has recovered.

The physiotherapist decided he could do with some input to assist his turning and transferring movements and to help loosen the clawing of his hands. Apparently this clawing is another PD symptom.

Later we had a home visit from a carer support worker (offered free from a local community organisation). She has helped in the past with ideas about organisations and people who support people like us. This time she reminded me that the Parkinson’s Society have home visitors who can give tips on how to cope with the practical problems of daily life with PD, such as eating and drinking when one has swallowing difficulties or shaky hands. We are expecting a call from our local visitor.

The support worker also told me of a local chef who cooks fresh, tasty meals for home delivery. We shall give her a try as I run out of meal ideas to offer my foodie PD patient. He doesn’t fuss, but really nice meals are his main remaining pleasure in life and I am not the best one to provide them! We considered that another positive appointment.

Lastly, we revisited the only accessible local dentist (ground floor room, parking outside, wide doorways to accommodate walking aids and wheelchairs). Ivan has long been dependent on dentures but the bottom set had become loose, exaggerating his eating difficulties and causing more of the Parkinson’s dribbling problem. On Friday 13th I took him to see what could be done. The best idea seemed to be to get a nice new set of dentures. Generous with others, he refused to spend the necessary amount of money on himself. He chose instead to have the loose denture ‘refurbished’ which was much cheaper – after all, how much use would he get from new dentures given that he is already 92?) I despaired, fearing that the refurbishment might be a waste of money. Fortunately, Ivan chose well. The newly refurbished teeth were ready just two days later, looked wonderful and fitted much better. We went home for tea at the end of a highly productive Blue Monday.

About the Author

Meg Pinfield
I am now in my mid-sixties, and started out as a trainee teacher after which I worked in London for the Government employment service. Following the breakdown of my marriage, I left London for Sussex and took up admin-secretarial work, initially at Surrey University. I then moved to Geneva, Switzerland, where I worked for international organisations for 6 years, including a spell at the World Council of Churches. This job involved memorable trips to Africa and around Europe.

Changing direction, I next found myself in Western Massachusetts, USA, studying for a postgraduate degree in counselling psychology and working various part time administrative jobs.

However, by 1993 my ageing parents needed me, so I moved to Cornwall to be near them. It was there that I met my husband Ivan, who is a family friend and was another recent incomer, and we married in 1996. He was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2006 and since then I have been his carer. I have no children of my own, but I am part of a large extended family, and also share the joys of being a parent and grandparent with Ivan’s family. For light relief I am currently studying maths and painting.